Wednesday, November 26, 2008

So much for the Yahoo! and Google deal eh? Well, it seems like Yahoo! is wasting no time in showing any negative feelings towards the company that failed to continue pursuing a possible search deal.

I don’t think I have ever seen a major search engine attack another in an online ad, but I guess Yahoo! does not bother being the first. The ads I found were displayed on LiveSide, but I have no knowledge of how many properties Yahoo! went ahead and placed these ads on.

The ad itself was a Flash movie, but I was able to capture most of the main points in four screenshots.

Slide 1: “LOST – Last Seen: Searching Google”

This implies that someone was been reported “lost” and was last seen searching on the infamous Google search engine. “Lost” meaning that searching using Google may result in even more confusing results.

Slide 2: For Music Videos

Just adds the detail that the individual was searching for music videos on Google when they were reported “lost.”

Slide 3:Don’t Get Lost

Finally, a Yahoo! logo and brand is clear. It also clarifies that by using Google, you can get lost in between all the actual results and irrelevant sponsored results.

Slide 4: Switch to Yahoo!

The final slide asks the viewer to switch to Yahoo! to be able to find the real answer that they want.

Overall, I think that the ads are using the only real selling points that a non-Google search engine can use: “switch” and “get straight to your answers.” Although Google itself is able to be very relevant because of its index and usage, other search engines may employ smarter algorithms or features that may interest certain people who do not find Google providing useful alternatives. However, it’s interesting how Yahoo! decided to go directly after Google in a marketing campaign, no matter how small this might be.

Note: I spotted this a couple of days ago but barely got the chance to post this blog entry.